PERSONALITY

A2 PHYSICAL EDUCATIONPsychological Aspects

LEARNING OUTCOMES

• Aspects of personality

• Definition of personality

• Interactionist perspective

• Personality as a predictor of performance

DEFINITIONS

• An individual’s predisposition to behave in a certain way.

• The sum total of an individuals characteristics which make him unique” (Hollander 1971)

• “Personality is the more or less stable and enduring organisation of a persons character, temperament, intellect and physique which determines the unique adjustment to the environment” (Eysenck)

• Pg 121 in AQA textbook.

TASK

• Write 10 honest endings to ‘I am...’ then, when you have finished, share what you have written with someone.

1 Do your answers sum up your personality? You will probably have to ask someone else to answer this for you!

2 Why do your responses sum up your personality, or, if they don’t, why not?

INTERACTIONIST PERSPECTIVE

• An explanation of behaviour that assumes that our personality depends on our traits and on the environment.

• Pg 122 in AQA textbook.

Interactionist Theory“Behaviour occurs from the interaction between inherited traits and

learned experiences”

BEHAVIOUR (B) = FUNCTION (f) OF PERSONALITY (P) × ENVIRONMENT (E)

B = f (P.E)

PERFORMANCE PREDICTORS

• Personality can be used as a predictor of performance. One way of doing this is by using the Talent-identification programme.

This is also a way of measuring and predicting types of personality.

Talent-identification programme

A systematic method of identifying and selecting those who have the ability or qualities to

progress further to a higher competitive level.

PERSONALITY TYPES

INTROVERTShy, timid,

reserved, aloof, self sufficient

EXTROVERTAdventurous,

confident,Sociable,

Group dependent, enthusiastic

TYPE ‘A’Highly competitive,

Strong desire to succeed,Works fast, likes to control,

Prone to suffer stress

TYPE ‘B’Non-competitive,

Unambitious,Works more slowly,

Does not enjoy controlLess prone to stress

NARROW BAND APPROACH, GIRDANO, 1990 TRAITS

PERSONALITY THEORIES

Trait Theory“People are born with

established personality characteristics”

• Inherited at birth. • Stable• Enduring• consistent in all situations.

BEHAVIOUR = FUNCTION OF PERSONALITY

+ve = Can be easily measured through questionnaires

-ve = Does not take into account environmental influences. It is not a true indicator of behaviour.

CATTELL (1965) identified 16 personality traits

INTROVERT & EXTROVERT

Social Learning Theory (Bandura)

“All behaviour is learned through interaction with the environment”

BEHAVIOUR = FUNCTION OF ENVIRONMENT

-ve = Does not consider inherited behaviour (traits)

Interactionist Theory“Behaviour occurs from the

interaction between inherited traits and learned experiences”

BEHAVIOUR = FUNCTION OF PERSONALITY × ENVIRNOMENT

CONCENTRIC RING THEORY(Hollander 1967)

The Psychological Core – The ‘real you’

Typical Response – Your usual response in most situations

Role Related Behaviour – Surface of personality

The boundary line of each layer gets wider as you get closer to the centre of the model which shows that each layer is harder to enter. As you move closer to the

centre, your ‘real’ personality begins to surface

PSYCHODYNAMIC THEORY(Freud 1933)

ID Basic Instinct(no conscious

control)

EGO Conscious

link with reality

SUPER EGOMoral Arm

(social conscience)

****THINK OF AGGRESSION AS AN EXAMPLE!****

ID, EGO & SUPER EGO interact to produce

individual patterns of

behaviour in sport.

Personality is formed from the conflict of SEEKING,

RELEASING and INHIBITING behaviour.

EYSENCK’S PERSONALITY TYPESNEUROTIC

(UNSTABLE)

anxious, moody, unpredictable & illogical

EXTROVERT

sociable, outgoing & lively

STABLE

calm, even-tempered, controlled 7 logical

INTROVERT

unsociable, shy & nervous

A2 PHYSICAL EDUCATIONPsychological Aspects

PERSONALITY

LEARNING OUTCOMES

• Use of personality testing

• Profile of mood states

PERSONALITY TESTING

• Measuring personality is difficult because there is no clear definition as to what personality is!

• Tests can be measured in the following ways:• Questionnaires• Interviews• Observations

QUESTIONNAIRES• Most common way of attempting to measure a person’s

personality.

• Requires some sort of self report (16 personality factor questionnaire designed by CATTELL).

• Very popular due to being cheap and easy to produce and administer.

• Fairly reliable and can be used anywhere.

• Produce a considerable amount of data that can be analysed.

TASK

• Complete a personality factor questionnaire to gain a greater insight into how your personality is made up.

INTERVIEWS

• Try to assess personality through discussions with respondents.

• A series of questions or interpretation of drawings.

• Greater validity than questionnaires and can uncover issues within the individual as answers are not to limited yes or no.

• Lower reliability than questionnaires as dependent on ability of interviewer to interpret answers.

• Also an expensive and time consuming way of interpreting data.

OBSERVATIONS

• In behavioural observations, the responses and actions of participants are recorded and analysed.

• Observing individual’s behaviour in a real life setting has the advantage that the person is more likely to operate as they would naturally.

• Very expensive and time consuming and also have low validity.

• It is difficult to interpret the behaviour of the participant because they might know they are being watched.

PROFILE OF MOOD STATES

• Used in sport to illustrate a difference between successful and less successful sportspeople.

• The difference is based on mood states and coping abilities as opposed to more enduring personality traits.

• Designed to measure the following– Tension– Depression– Anger– Vigour – Fatigue– Confusion

Successful athletes scored higher on anger and vigour but score lower on depression,

fatigue, and confusion.

Unsuccessful athletes score equally across all mood states.

Elite athletes score higher on the positive mood of vigour and lower on the negative

moods of depression, fatigue, and confusion. Suggestion that the absence of an iceberg is an indication that something is wrongE.g. overtrained swimmers showed lower

than expected scores on vigour and higher scores on fatigue, depression, and

confusion.

PROBLEMS WITH P.O.M.S

• The main problem is that these results can be assumed for ALL athletes.

• Not all elite performers show an iceberg profile.

• Could suggest that by becoming successful athletes, the elite performers acquire self-confidence and ‘feel-good’ factors that lead them to develop positive mood states.

PERSONALITYA2 PHYSICAL EDUCATION

Psychological Aspects

LEARNING OUTCOMES

• Achievement Motivation

• Motives to achieve (Nach)

• Avoid failure (Naf)

• Characteristics of each

ACHIEVEMENT MOTIVATION

Success in sport is measured against some type of COMPETITIVE GOAL.

The theory that an individual’s behaviour is determined by their interaction with the environment and their desire to succeed.

Achievement Motivation is a concept developed by sports psychologists to link PERSONALITY and COMPETITIVENESS.

The major issue centres on the extent to which an INDIVIDUAL IS MOTIVATED TO ATTAIN SUCCESS.

ACHIEVEMENT MOTIVATIONACHIEVEMENT MOTIVATION

ACHIEVEMENT MOTIVATION (interactionist perspective)• the drive to achieve success for its own sake• related to

– competitiveness– persistence– striving for perfection

• influenced by– personality factors

• need to achieve• need to avoid failure

– situational factors• probability of success• incentive value of success

The Performer in Action

Critical points of this theory…Critical points of this theory…

• Most useful when task involves 50-50 chance of success• Success may mean different things to different people and can

be interpreted in various ways• Measuring Achievement motivation using attitude and anxiety

scales can be unreliable• It is not a global concept - performers may react in different

ways in different sport specific situations• No clear relationship established between ach. Motivation and

performance, however useful for predicting long term motivation

MOTIVES TO ACHIEVE (Nach)

• Nach – Need to achieve

• The motivation to succeed or attain particular goals; people with Nach type personalities show approach behaviours.

• Nach personalities appear to seek out competitive situations.

NACH

• Nach personalities will:

• Accept challenges• Demonstrate task persistance• Be quick and efficient• Take risks• Welcome feedback• Take personal responsibility for actions• Try harder after failure

NEED TO AVOID FAILURE (Naf)

• The motivation to avoid failure, people with Naf-type personalities show avoidance behaviours.

• Naf personalities are those who seem intent on avoiding competitive situations.

• Naf personalities will:

• Avoid responsibility• Take an easy option• Give up after failure• Don’t accept feedback

TASK

• Complete the following Questionnaire (WS2) to see whether you are one of the following:

• Low achievement-orientated individual• High achievement-orientated individual

PERSONALITY FACTORSA = TS

Someone with a high need to achieve will probably have a low need to avoid

failure and will choose difficult or demanding tasks which are more risky,

e.g.the hard route up a rock face

B = TAFSomeone with a high need to avoid

failure will probably have a low need to achieve and will choose

tasks which are less risky and more easily achieved,

e.g. the easy route up the rock face

TS = Tendency to APPROACH success

TAF = Tendency to AVOID failure

SITUATIONAL FACTORSA =

If the probability of success low (competing against the world champion) you will strive very hard to win (incentive high). You will

be highly chuffed if you win.

B =If the probability of success high (competing in local

club match) you don’t need to try as hard to win (incentive low and expect to win easily). It is not so

pleasing if you win.

CHARACTERISITCS OF NACH & NAF

NEED TO AVOID FAILURE (NAF)Tendency to avoid failure • avoids challenges• does not take risks• gives up• does not want feedback• Worries about failure• Avoids situations with 50/50 chance of

success• Choose tasks which are very easy or very

difficult• Attribute performance to external

factors

NEED TO ACHIEVE (NACH)Tendency to approach success • likes a challenge• likes feedback• is not afraid of failure• has high task persistence• Optimistic• Confident• Takes risks• Quick completion of tasks• Attribute performance to

internal factors

TASK

• Give some examples from sport of a ‘Nach’ and a ‘Naf’ performer, using the characteristics given.

• Imagine that you are a coach to a team of sports players. Discuss in a group how you would make sure that the performers in your charge continue to show motivation to succeed.

TASK REVIEW • As a coach you could:

IMPROVE NEED AND MOTIVE TO ACHIEVE (Nach)

• Increase positive reinforcement hence increasing pride and satisfaction• Ensure that goals are achievable• Ensure that at least some situations guarantee successand subsequently gradually increase task difficulty in line with progress• Ensure that tasks are challenging• Ensure that the probability of success is good• Ensure that the incentive value of the success is high (is the race worth winning?)

TASK REVIEW

REDUCE TENDENCY AND MOTIVE TO AVOID FAILURE (Naf)

• Reduce punishment hence lowering the chance of performer worrying about failure• Focus negative feedback on effort rather than ability. This avoids the performer tending to believe that causes of failure are internal (due to lack of ability for example) and reduces the risk of learned helplessness.• Avoid situations where defeat / failure is inevitable (such as performing against a much superior opponent)•If this is not possible alter the criteria for success (you will have succeeded if you only lose by 2 goals).

To ensure the motives to succeed

• A coach would want the players in a team to be competitive and to continue to try harder, particularly in the face of defeat.

• To ensure that players maintain the motives to succeed, a coach might:

• Allow early success• Raise self efficacy• Attribute success internally and failure externally• Use rewards and reinforcement• Promote intrinsic motivation with personal goals• Show successful, attainable role models• Re-define failure• Control arousal

LEARNING OUTCOMES

• Incentive value and probability of success.

• Development of approach and avoidance behaviour.

ACHIEVEMENT MOTIVATION

& COMPETITION• A high degree of achievement motivation might lead to the

inclination to be competitive. This is again related to personality. A performer with high trait anxiety may exhibit the need to avoid failure because they are usually worried about the outcome.

• Competiveness measures the degree to which we approach competition and success in sport. The amount of competiveness shown depends on the situational variables of task importance, experience and confidence. It is measured in three areas: -

COMPETITIVENESS

The desire to seek and strive for success in sport

WIN or OUTCOME ORIENTATION

The desire to win interpersonal competitive sporting events (this is sometimes referred to as an ego approach behaviour to

competition

GOAL or TASK ORIENTATION

The desire to reach personal goals (this can be referred to as task motivation

TYPES OF MOTIVATIONGOAL or OUTCOME ORIENTATED MOTIVATION

Ego orientated performers see success as beating others and showing superiority.

Ability is important for success, so goals that emphasise superiority are important.

TASK ORIENTATED MOTIVATION

Task orientated performers believe success is measured in terms of personal improvement and that effort is important.

Performance and process goals that concern technique are the best ones to motivate this type of performer.

KEY TERMSKEY TERMS

• Achievement Motivation - a theory which proposes that the behaviour of an individual is based on his or her interaction with the environment and desire to succeed

• N.Ach - need to achieve• N.af - need to avoid failure• Approach behaviour - the performer is motivated to attempt a challenging situation

even though they might fail• Avoidance behaviour - the performer is motivated to protect their self-esteem and

may not place themselves in a evaluation situation• Self-efficacy - the degree of self confidence experienced by a performer in a specific

situation• Learned helplessness - feelings of an individual when they think failure is inevitable

because of past negative experience• Attributions - the perceived reasons a performer gives for their performances both

success and failure• Interactionist - behaviour of individual is combination of personality and

environment/situation at that time